• Gold eased on Thursday as the dollar came off its lows and world stock markets scaled fresh highs, giving back some gains from the prior session when U.S. Federal Reserve minutes suggested it could be more cautious with interest rate increases.
• Fed policymakers had agreed at the meeting that they should hold off from raising rates until it is clear that a recent U.S. economic slowdown is only temporary, though most said an increase is coming soon.
• Spot gold <XAU=> was down 0.2 percent at $1,255.91 an ounce by 3:32 p.m. ET (1932 GMT), while U.S. gold futures <GCcv1> settled up 0.3 percent at $1,256.40.
• Capital Economics analyst Simona Gambarini said that gold's resilience could falter in coming weeks, citing indications in the Fed minutes that tighter monetary policy is on the cards.
• Federal fund futures implied that traders believe there is an 83 percent probability that the Fed will raise rates by a quarter of a percentage point at its June meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
• Expectations for U.S. interest rates to rise next month and potentially again later in the year have helped keep gold prices below $1,300.
• Fed Governor Lael Brainard said that a brighter global economy is posing less risk to the Fed's U.S. outlook, adding to the signal the U.S. central bank sent in minutes released this week that it is likely to move forward with an expected rate increase in June.
• "Gold appears to be caught in a range in which the physical market - demand from India and China - is providing strong support around $1,200/oz, but safe-haven flows have been insufficient to breach the $1,300/oz threshold," said Standard Chartered Precious Metals Analyst Suki Cooper.
• On the technical front, Sucden Financial analyst Kash Kamal said: "After the golden cross of the 50-day moving average over the 200-day moving average and yesterday's firm buying early on towards $1,250, it looks as if prices are consolidating the recent rally."
• Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> fell 0.3 percent to $17.14 an ounce.
Reference: Nasdaq
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